BANGALORE: In more trouble for BS Yeddyurappa, Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde on Thursday said he has given "substantive" and "voluminous" evidence against the chief minister and others in the illegal mining in the state.

Terming the illegal mining scam as huge, he said, "In the time period of 14 months, it is more than Rs 1800 crore. The time period is between March 2009 to May 2010. It is the loss to the state exchequer. It is loss to the state".

Report has given substantive evidence whether it's the chief minister, ministers and miners in the illegal mining. "It's a voluminous evidence", he said, adding, the report runs into 4000-5000 pages.

"It's a huge racket. As a matter of fact, the chief minister is responsible for what's happening in (mineral rich district of) Bellary because of the fact that the minister in charge (of the district G Janardhana Reddy) is owner of a mining company ( Obalapuram Mining Company) and a mafia-like situation is created with every official being involved. They have created a new system altogether by which they could literally bleed other mining companies", Hegde said.

Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, said the leak of the report on Wednesday would not have any impact as it would not question the validity of the report, which he was expected to submit to the Government by Monday.

Accusing the BJP leadership of patronising illegal mining in Karnataka, Congress on Thursday demanded the resignation of BS Yeddyurappa.

With the state Lokayukta report indicting the state government over the illegal mining issue, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said, "Yeddyurappa must immediately resign from his post".

"All these things are already in public domain but now the Lokayukta has indicted the chief minister and other ministers in the state government," he said.

Lokayukta Santosh Hegde has recommended a probe into Yeddyurappa's role and that of his four ministerial colleagues with regard to illegal mining in the state.

The Congress spokesperson also questioned the "silence" of senior BJP leaders at the centre over the ongoing "illegal mining" in Karnataka and alleged that was happening with their consent.

"It is now evident that illegal mining in Karnataka was continuing with the consent of top central BJP leaders and they were aware of chief minister's involvement in the whole episode. Without their consent, senior party leaders from the state like Dhananjay Kumar could not have gone to meet Lokayukta to request for deleting Yeddyurappa's name from the report," he alleged.

The report, which is to be submitted soon, has also sought an investigation into the role of former chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anil Lad.

Sources have said the four Ministers who were named in the report are: G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy, B Sriramulu, all hailing from the mineral-rich Bellary district, and V Somanna.

BANGALORE: In a shocking revelation, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has said his phones are being tapped by the state government. His disclosure is likely to trigger serious political repercussions in the state in the coming days.

â€œYes, my phones are being tapped by the state government,â€™â€™ he told Express. His disclosure comes days after he revealed that BJP spokesperson and Karnataka Governmentâ€™s Delhi representative Dhananjaya Kumar and a couple of other leaders were exerting pressure on him not to include Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappaâ€™s name in the final report on mining irregularities.
This fresh charge of phone tapping by Hegde is set to put the government in a spot of bother, while providing cannon fodder to the Opposition parties against Yeddyurappa.

Hegde suspected that his phones were being tapped when a private conversation was made public through the media. It was then that he ordered the sweeping of his office by an expert team to find if there were any bugs installed.
â€œAfter reports of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjeeâ€™s office being allegedly bugged, I thought similar bugs could have been installed in my office too. I ordered a thorough sweeping of the office. Later, the team informed me that there were no bugs and said that my phone could have been tapped,â€™â€™ Hegde said.

Later, using his investigative skills, Hegde found that his phones were being actively tapped by the government and were recorded at two places. He, however, did not divulge the spots.
Asked whether the phone tapping had anything to do with the final report on illegal mining being prepared by him, the Lokayukta replied in the affirmative and said: â€œEver since this government came to power, it has been at loggerheads with the institution of Lokayukta. But phone tapping has increased in the last three to four months.â€
â€œI still know the government is tapping my phones. During my conversation, I tell people that my phone is being tapped. Let them be. Anyway I am going to return the mobile SIM card to the government at the end of my term,â€ he added.

REPORT LEAKED
Meanwhile, there were reports of the final report on illegal mining being leaked. It is said that the report had indicted the CM, his Cabinet colleagues, the Reddy brothers, Ministers Sreeramulu and V Somanna, besides former CM HD Kumaraswamy. Hegde said he would order a probe into the leak.

Karnataka lok ayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday reiterated his claim that BJP leaders V Dhananjaya Kumar, VS Acharya and AG Kudigi had met him and urged him to drop chief minister BS Yeddyurappaâ€™s name from his final report on the illegal mining.

â€œI stick to my words. As I had said earlier, V Dhananjaya Kumar, minister VS Acharya and former state finance commission chairman AG Kudagi came to my house and requested me that if Yeddyurappaâ€™s name figured in my final report on illegal mining, it should be dropped.

They said that the chief ministerâ€™s name had to be dropped as the BJP government was surviving solely because of him in the state,â€ Justice Hegde told mediapersons here.

â€œDhananjaya Kumar has himself admitted that that he met me but claimed that it was for personal reasons. But I want to reiterate that Dhananjaya Kumar came to me and requested me to drop Yeddyurappaâ€™s name from my final report on illegal mining,â€ the lok ayukta asserted.

The lok ayukta is expected to release his final report on illegal mining in the state on July 23.

JD(S) wants BSY to go
The Janata Dal (Secular) on Tuesday urged governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj to dismiss the BS Yeddyurappa government in view of the BJP leadersâ€™ efforts to pressure the lok ayukta to drop the chief ministerâ€™s name in his final report on illegal mining in the state.

A delegation of JD(S) leaders led by party state unit chief and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy called on the governor and submitted a memorandum in this regard.

Earlier, over a thousand party workers took out a procession from the party office in Anand Rao Circle to Raj Bhavan.

Speaking to the media at Raj Bhavan, JD(S) leader MC Nanaiah said: â€œThe BJP government is the main culprit in the illegal mining issue. After it came to power, crores of tonnes of iron ore have been exported illegally form the state at the behest of the chief minister, who was also the mining minister.

Almost all the ministers are involved in illegal mining. Now, they are trying to hush up the report before it is submitted to the state government. By doing so, they are undermining a constitutional authority. The chief minister should own moral responsibility for all this and step down.â€

â€œThe JD(S) has been demanding a CBI probe into illegal mining. But the state government is scared to let the issue be handled by a central agency, as its misdeeds could come out. The governor must intervene and dismiss the BJP government in the state,â€ Nanaiah added.

BANGALORE: Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Thursday said he had no clue who leaked details of the report on illegal mining to the media.

"I'm sure an internal investigation will bring out the facts," he added. Hegde maintained the leak would not have any impact, as it does not question the validity of the report.

Former Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh was also indicted in the first report.

"It's a huge scam, indeed. In 14 months (March 2009 to May 2010), more than Rs 1,800 crore has been siphoned off. It is a big loss to the state exchequer," Hegde said, declining to reveal details.
Apart from Yeddyurappa, ministers G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy, B Sriramulu and V Somanna, former CM H D Kumaraswamy and Congress MP Anil Lad, sources said the report also indicts former chief ministers S M Krishna and N Dharam Singh, in addition to a few more elected representatives from all three parties.

"It's a huge racket. As a matter of fact, the CM is responsible for what's happening in Bellary because minister in-charge G Janardhana Reddy has created a mafia-like situation. But there are many more involved. Just wait for the report," Justice Hegde said.

After two back-to-back meetings on Thursday with his officers, Justice Hegde said he planned to submit the report by Monday.

"I was planning to submit the report tomorrow evening (Friday) but because of technical reasons (printing), we may be forced to give it on Monday," he added.

He didn't say whether the report will be submitted to the chief secretary or governor, or both, in the absence of Yeddyurappa, who is holidaying in Mauritius.

A day after contents of the report on illegal mining were leaked, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Thursday made a startling revelation that his phones were being tapped.

"My telephone was being tapped. Experts have confirmed it," he told reporters. He, however, refused to divulge any information on this.

According to sources, the Lokayukta started suspecting phone tapping about three months ago, as many confidential matters were becoming public. He initially suspected that the company which had installed CCTVs inside the Lokayukta office may have done the mischief. But it was proved wrong.

Later, experts from a private agency found that Justice Hegdeâ€™s phones (both mobile phone and landline at his residence) were tapped. The entire Lokayukta office located at Multi-storey (MS) building was scanned for bugging devices. Official sources said the Lokayuktaâ€™s phones were tapped from a residence in Dollarâ€™s Colony, Chamarajpet and Basavanagudi. Experts had informed Justice Hegde about this.

Asked whether there was a link between the phone tapping and the report leak, he only said â€œeverything is possibleâ€.

Official sources said the Lokayukta was trying to find out who was behind the telephone tapping and the report leak.

Interestingly, when Deccan Herald learnt about phone-tapping, it had contacted Hegde on July 15. He had then said he was not aware of his phone being tapped. The staff in his office had told this paper that the call-tracking device was procured by the Bangalore police, following the serial blasts in 2008, to track calls of suspected terrorists. But it was being used to track the calls of the Lokayukta. â€œThe government wants to find its enemies and with whom the Lokayukta is in contact with,â€ the sources had stated.

Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Sunday wants police protection for four of his officers who are key to drafting the second report on illegal mining which will be submitted to the government before July 25. They are now working at a secret location.

Expressing concern over their safety, he told TOI: "Already, Lokayukta officers are under threat. The attack on Lake Development Authority chief UV Singh in February 2011 is the best example. Moreover, this report is a sensitive matter and surely my officers should be given adequate police security." He declined to divulge the names of the officers. "I'll disclose everything while submitting the report," he added.

Hegde said: "They're not working in the Lokayukta office because we want to ensure no undue pressure is brought on them. As the report contains names of some bigwigs, including political giants, the chances of this happening are very high."

Asked about the size of the report, Hegde said, "I can't talk about that now. It's in printed form. We'll scan the entire report before submitting it. Later, we may think of recording it on a CD," he said.

Terming the report as 'most sensitive', Hegde said the four officers are not using assistants' help. "They're not taking any chances and doing the job on their own. They are not even using stenographers. It's difficult for them, but we have no choice as we are bent on maintaining secrecy," Hegde said.

Reacting to AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad's comment, Hegde said, "One should talk with some sense. Does he remember what he had done in college?" he asked. Hariprasad was quoted as saying: "Why didn't Hegde say earlier that Yeddyurappa had sent emissaries, including higher education minister VS Acharya, requesting him not to include Yeddyurappa's name in the report?"

Pat came the reply from the anti-corruption crusader during a two-hour interaction organized by the college: "I don't want to face an inquiry. I hope to make democracy successful.'' He retires from the post this month-end.

Asked why no action was taken even when there were allegations of corruption against chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, Hegde replied all cases brought to him have been examined and are pending in court.

Justice Hegde was bombarded with questions, but he fielded them amiably. "No complaint against the chief minister is pending before the Lokayukta. The first report on illegal mining was submitted in December 2008 and the final report will be submitted soon. There are many scams yet to be unearthed," he said. When asked how the Lokayukta office ensures it doesn't fall prey to corruption, he said: "If a Lokayukta member is under suspicion, he's assessed by a five-member inquiry team for moral competency."

Hegde exhorted students: "Social boycott of the corrupt is the only solution to end corruption. Do not take and give bribes. Do not associate yourself with any corrupt person. Though it might sound irrational, this has been my policy."

According to him, for every rupee spent by the government for public welfare, only one paisa reaches beneficiaries. When Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, he had said it was five paise, he pointed out.

Seriously though, Bellary is a mess. You know what, if you have a 60x40 site, dig it and you will find ore. People have made millions no billions. The entire area is stripped of any green cover. The Reddy brothers run the area like their fiefdom. Even other miners have to pay "mamool" to them on every truck that goes out of Bellary filled with ore.

Karnataka governor HR Bhardwaj today said he will take action on lokayukta's report after it is made official. Lokayukta Santosh N Hegde's report indicted chief minister BS Yeddyurappa in illegal mining scam that is rampant in the state. He said, "Will act on Lokayukta

On Thursday, the Karnataka high court allowed the police to question the chief minister and his family over illegal land deals, and lokayukta justice Santosh Hegde prepared to release a report accusing Yeddyurappa, four ministers, political opponents and bureaucrats of corruption linked to illegal mining.

More than 500 people, among Karnataka's most powerful, have been named in the second report on illegal mining - the first was in 2009 - of about 8,000 pages, a source close to the largest such investigation in any Indian state told HT.

Lokayukta investigators checked more than four lakh bank accounts to track money trails and identify about 4,000 people linked to illegal mining.

The report said illegal mining cost the government Rs 1,827 crore in dodged taxes and other levies between April 2009 and May 2010.

"Every party has its hands in the till," the source said. Over the past 17 years, 11,600 sq km of land has been opened to private mining. That's more than 15 times the area of the National Capital Region of Delhi.

On Thursday, politicians from the Janata Dal (S) and the Congress accused the BJP of corruption and then defended their own involvement with mining companies exporting iron ore, primarily to China.

The lokayukta's net will likely spread beyond the CM to his bÃªte noir, former JD(S) chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is accused of granting mining leases despite objections from the bureaucracy, to Congress MP Anil Lad, accused of illegal mining using false names.

Lok Ayukta superintendent of police, Bellary, Ashok Sadalagi, finds his name featured among those responsible for causing losses to the state exchequer in the leaked Lok Ayukta report on illegal mining. What is more, he is not the lone official within the Lok Ayukta to be named.

Sadalagi said, â€œI have produced all the necessary documents that higher officials needed; I have worked in time. Yet, my name figures in the report. This comes as a shock.â€

When he took first assumed charge in 2008, illegal mining was hectic in Bellary. It was rumoured that officials, politicians and even those within the Lok Ayukta were involved.

An officer working in the same department as Sadalagi said, â€œAll the officials in the department knew that he was supporting the illegal mining activity. The truth has only been documented now.â€

Tapal Ganesh, an activist who has been working against illegal mining in Bellary, said, â€œThe MBT mining company has been carrying on illegal mining, and exporting the iron ore in breach of proper procedure. I gave documentary evidence of all this to Sadalagi, but he just received it and kept it all in his drawer.â€

Ganesh added that the official would secretly meet owners of mines. There were close associates of the miners with whom Sadalagi had meetings, on the sly. It was widely believed that the Lok Ayukta superintendent of police accepted bribes.

Activists said Sadalagi would accept documents from them, and claim that he was not the official concerned. He would promise to pass the documents to the right person, but would instead take them to owners of mines. Officials in the Lokayukta office in Bellary confirmed this as true.

Yeddyurappa cautious, wonâ€™t talk on phone

According to the sources, tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy is set to fly to Mauritius on Thursday, where chief minister BS Yeddyurappa is holidaying.

On Wednesday, after the report of the Lok Ayukta on illegal mining was leaked to the press, Reddy contacted the chief minister over the phone. Fearing that the phone lines might be tapped, Yeddyurappa reportedly instructed the minister to fly to Mauritius.

Reddy, along with Kampli MLA TH Suresh Babu, are expected to leave for Mauritius.

â€œI have received clear information about my mobile and land line (both home and office) phones being tapped. Conversations between me and UV Singh (chief conservator of forests, lokayukta cell) who is heading the task of preparing the final report were tapped. But I donâ€™t know who has tapped these phones,â€ an emotional Hegde told media persons on Thursday as tears streaked his cheeks.

After holding meetings with Lok Ayukta officials Hegde informed the media: â€œI feel very sad about the report being leaked, but I will own the responsibility. I am sure that our officers have no role in this. But somebody did this. Only after a through enquiry can we come to know who did it and exactly how it was leaked.â€

Reacting to rumours about his resignation, Hegde said: â€œIf I resign I cannot submit the report. So I will not resign. I will complete my term and then step down,â€ he said. Hegde is scheduled to resign in early August when his term completes.

Bangalore: In a new twist to the political developments related to the soon-to-be released Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Karnataka, All India Congress Committee general secretary and Lok Sabha MP BK Hariprasad on Sunday accused Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde of encouraging corruption in the state by being biased towards Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa.

He made these comments in response to the reports of three top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having approached the Lokayukta six months ago to influence him to drop Yeddyurappa's name from the report on illegal mining.

Hegde had recently admitted that three BJP leaders -- Dr VS Acharya (higher education minister), AG Kodgi (state finance commission chairman) and V Dhananjay Kumar (government's representative in Delhi) -- had approached him and sought the exclusion of Yeddyurappa's name from his final report on illegal mining.

"Why did he not disclose it earlier? This clearly shows that Hegde is favouring the BJP and encouraging corruption in Karnataka. He occupies a responsible position and he should not have done that. I urge Hegde to resign from his job immediately. Though he has a little more than a week to retire, he must step down immediately," said Hariprasad. State Congress chief G Parameshwar sought the immediate resignations of Yeddyurappa, Acharya, Kodgi and Kumar.

A day after his report was leaked, an emotional Justice N. Santosh Hegde refused to accept the BJPâ€™s charge that the leak had affected the sanctity of his reports.

Insisting that the findings of his report was still valid, he said the total loss to the state exchequer in the form of royalties was Rs 1,827 crore in a mere 14 months and that the full report would be â€œsubstantive and voluminous.â€

Q: Political parties are saying that as the report has been leaked it has lost its sanctity. Do you agree?

How can it spoil the sanctity of the report as a whole? Those who say this should read the law. The leak of the report will not have any impact as it does not question the validity of the report.

The Chief Minister, his sonsâ€™ and son-in-lawâ€™s involvement and the favours that they received is just a part of the report. Moreover, the leaked report has not gone into detail, they did not have access to the supporting documents that we have attached to the report.

The leak focuses on one of the major portions of the report but the remaining chapters are still intact. The mining scam in the state is huge and during the time period of 14 months the loss has been estimated at more than Rs 1800 crore. This period is between March 2009 and May 2010. It is a loss to the state exchequer. It is a loss to the state.

Q: The part in the report about the CM has been leaked. Can you elaborate how the CM benefited and also who is responsible for the illegal mining in the state?

The report has given substantive evidence against Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. On their involvement, in order to benefit a mining company an amount of Rs 10 crore was paid to the trust, Prerana Trust in Shimoga. The trust is run by the CMâ€™s sons.

In another case, the same mining company has purchased a site from the CMâ€™s son-in-law for a whopping Rs 20 crore, whereas the guidance value of the property is not more than Rs 1 crore. The scam as a whole is a huge one.

The Chief Minister is responsible for what is happening in Bellary because of the fact that the minister in charge â€” the Chief Minister â€” is owner of a mining company and a mafia-like situation has been created with every official being involved. They have created a new system altogether by which they could literally bleed other mining companies.

Q: The leaked report also apparently talks about HDKâ€™s role. Has he been also indicted in the report?

The former CM had granted a licence to a firm. However, some officials who cross-checked with the MoEF opposed the former CM's directive to grant a licence to the firm. But the noting shows that CM wanted the proposal cleared in one hour.

Tapping nothing new

Call it coincidence, but the Lokayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde and his former boss and late chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde have borne the brunt of telephone tapping.

The late Mr Hegde was forced to step down when evidence of the state intelligence wing eves-dropping on telephone conversations of his Cabinet colleagues including H.D. Deve Gowda was leaked to the media in 1988.

Lokayuta Justice Santosh Hegde, whose leaked report on illegal mining in the state has created quite a storm in the state, said on Saturday July 23 that he has no hopes on the state government taking any action on the report.

He said in an interview that as even the chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has been named in the report, the state government may not take any action and added that all his hopes now rested on the Supreme Court.

He also said that it was no suprise that Yeddyurappa had denied any wrong doing and refused to step down from office.

The report, which is yet to be submitted, names over 500 people across party lines, including four BJP ministers, state JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy and some Congress leaders. It states that the illegal mining in Bellary has incurred a loss close to Rs 1,800 crore to the exchequer since 2009.

He also clarified that government is not under any obligation to accept his report. He said that he has evidence of the illegal mining going on in the state and has included it in the report. He expressed his full confidence in the SC-appointed Central Empowered Committee to take the report seriously.

As it waits with dread for the impending report of the lokayukta indicting their chief minister and four ministers â€” among at least 500 others â€” for corruption related to illegal mining, the BJP is anxiously turning its gaze towards Karnatakaâ€™s Raj Bhavan. Its occupant, HR Bhardwaj, veteran of many public conflicts with CM BS Yeddyurappa, has already said he will act on the report when it is released, most likely on Monday. â€œJustice Hegde is a competent man,â€ said Bhardwaj. â€œWhatever he recommends, I will go by it.â€
While lokayukta justice Santosh Hegde will do no more than release the 8,000-page report, since his organisation has no powers to file civil or criminal cases, the lokayukta act provides unspecified discretionary powers to the governor.

The CMâ€™s confidants believe things could get messy even if BJP leaders in Delhi stand by him â€” it isnâ€™t clear they will â€” and he ignores the coming storm.

The Lokayukta Act, 1984, clearly defines â€œpublic servantsâ€ covered under the act. That includes the â€œchief minister and all other ministers and members of the state legislatureâ€.

The lokayukta can investigate but not prosecute them. That prerogative, the act reads, is left to the â€œcompetent authorityâ€, which in the case of the chief minister or a member of the state legislature is â€œthe governor acting in his discretionâ€.

The governor has used his discretion in cases before to recommend action against the CM.

In May, the Centre rejected the governor's recommendation of President's rule, after questions over a government majority in the legislature. Yeddyurappa took 121 MLAs to Rashtrapati Bhavan to prove majority.

In January, Bhardwaj sanctioned the CMâ€™s prosecution in alleged land scandals, also involving his family members. A stay on that was lifted on Thursday by the Karnataka HC.

As for possible action against those likely to be named in the report â€” including four state ministers, former CM HD Kumaraswamy (JD-S) and Congress MP Anil Lad â€”observers note that in 2009, no action was taken against 10 officers, IAS and IPS, as Hegde had recommended in his first report. And nothing happened to Hegdeâ€™s recommendation that Rs 23 crore be recovered from former CM Dharam Singh (Congress) for issuing permits to transport illegally mined iron ore. The lokayukta dismissed as "totally wrong" reports that he has named external affairs minister SM Krishna in his report

Seriously though, Bellary is a mess. You know what, if you have a 60x40 site, dig it and you will find ore. People have made millions no billions. The entire area is stripped of any green cover. The Reddy brothers run the area like their fiefdom. Even other miners have to pay "mamool" to them on every truck that goes out of Bellary filled with ore.

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I do not understand why all his hooplah.Illegal mining is taking place in so many places.
The state minister from our(TN) constituency made a few thousand crores by illegal mining and other forms of corruption and landgrabbing. But his party was allied with the Kaangrace.

Large scale corruption is ongoing in variuos parts even as we talk, all this focus of Ktka is for political mileage.

The present government is Karnataka are run by the most corrupt persons. I wonder why the BJP top brass are so silent about this. And then every quarter of a year you'd hear these nepotists making stupid statements like the one about 'studying Gita'. These so called flag bearers of Hindu's has yet to put behind bars Ram Sene Chief, whose goons beat up and molested girls in Mangalore pubs.